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- Precisely tailored frequency response with 40mm neodymium dynamic drivers
- Ergonomic, comfortable fit
- Adjustable, padded, and moisture-wicking headband for superior comfort over extended periods
- Memory foam earpads provide increased sound isolation and comfort
- Collapsible design for easy transport
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The SRH840 is a new monitoring headphone from Shure, the company that is prevalent in professional circles for mics, in-ear monitors and other tools used by the sound engineers.
First a disclaimer. I'm NOT a fan of their in-ear monitors, finding them to have a sound that is too treble recessed. Only their top models like the SE530 are any good to my ears, and in my opinion, there are better for the price.
When they announced their line of full sized headphones, I thought they would be overpriced, but surprise....these are $200 which is a lot cheaper than a lot of other high end headphones.
These are clearly meant to be used as tools. They have that studio-use look, no cutting edge style and no exotic materials to give that high end bling. A detachable cable that plugs into and locks into place. It folds easily and neatly into a compact bundle. The cable is a coiled affair, which is kind of annoying for general use as you always feel tethered, but it makes sense for pro use since you usually plug them into your mixing/sound interface at arms reach on your console or desk. All the materials look durable, and you even get an extra set of earpads, and a little carrying bag with drawstring. Of course, a screw in 1/4 adapter is supplied. Top marks for all the things you get, you don't need to buy anything else.
The headband is very flexible design, and you can bend it any way and it springs back. The padding is a soft knitted material, and the headband slider has soft detents. On my big head, the clamping force is slightly tight but I suspect most people will find it quite comfortable. The earpads just go around the ears and I still have a bit of room to spare. The noise isolation is decent, my computer's noise is no longer noticeable. These are good companions for the office.
Sound:
These are definitely monitoring headphones. They have a middle-of-the-road sound presentation in their sound signature. Bass extension is quite deep, and there is still good bass presence below 40Hz. Treble is not overly-sparkly as you would find in other headphones like Denons or Grados but it has just enough treble sparkle that you don't feel like there are cottonballs in your ears (unlike some other Shure In-Ear monitors that I disliked). I would say the treble is just a wee bit shy of neutral. I'd think if you have a treble control, adding a decibel or two would make it just right. Mids are good, there is a tad bit of upper midrange graininess, and is well balanced. Sibilance is well controlled. Detail is above average for their price. While they don't extract the most minute details like some AKGs and Grados, I think they are just being honest. While those other headphones let you hear specific characteristics of certain instruments very well down to the texture of each violin bow stroke, these Shures don't have that deliberate magnifying effect anywhere in its presentation, which is good because you don't really want to hear exaggerated view of any one thing for a studio monitor. These aren't the last word in bass tightness, but the bass is presented with warmth and musicality, you feel and can clearly follow rythymn. This headphone doesn't sound thin nor too thick.
Soundstage is a downfall of closed type headphones, and these are no exception, but they are about average if you compare them to other closed models like the Sennheiser HD280. Don't buy these if you want to experience the grand 3D scale of The Philharmonic. What I like about these headphones is that they basically don't try to niche themselves, they don't go out of their way to call attention to the sound in any way, which is what a good monitoring headphone should be. I find them superior to the inexpensive reference monitor Sony MDR-V6 in overall sweetness and fluidity to the sound, these are just much more preferable for general music listening.
I like these a lot, and I think they don't have any obvious flaws. They are like the goldilocks of headphones, a neutral impartial tool that just presents the sound with no frills. While there are other headphones that will surpass these for certain types of music, and even many others that get your feet tapping more, these Shures seem to take the stance "meh, go ahead with those other headphones, I'm just doing my job"
My previous recommendation the Denon D2000 still stands as the headphone I like for a lively fun listen that gets me involved in the music, but I am finding these Shure quite compelling in that they are honest sounding..they are a good reference for what the sound signature would be like hearing the music that the mastering engineer heard in the studio.
These will be my new go-to recommendation for closed, neutral headphones from now on.
Buy Shure SRH840 Professional Monitoring Headphones (Black) Now
I took a chance on the SRH840s, even though they're pricey. I wanted them for podcasting use to monitor voice via sound board, and I've been impressed with other Shure products. The Sony MDR7506 was my second choice, but I've had terrible luck with Sony products. I've had to return several products because of poor quality and, with the large numbers of defective Sony LCD televisions recently (malfunctioning pixels), I opted to spend more money on the SRH840s and not take another chance on Sony.
I decided to test the SRH840s with Paul Galbraith's Bach Sonatas and Partitas (solo 8-string guitar), which was a DDD recording. After the first 15 seconds I thought I was hearing some odd transients from the headphones and then realized that I was hearing Galbraith's breathing as he played. He always manages to hold his breath during single-note play, and during very quiet passages, but as he plays more aggressively, I definitely hear his breathing. I was absolutely stunned. I'd never heard that before. And all of this from the CD drive in my laptop with no tone controls.
I also used the 840s later to listen to amateur radio. I'm a General Class ham and picking out weak stations at night on 80 and 160 meters was quite a pleasure. Nothing compared to the cheap Audio-Technica ATH-P1s I had been using.
The only downside I can point out so far is that, for people like me who wear glasses, they're a bit tight on the temple and push the glasses against my head a bit more than I like. On the positive side, they definitely do a great job of sealing out ambient noise, and for catching any background noise that might have made it into my recordings.
Not for the fashion-conscious, they look absolutely goofy because they're designed to fit people with even very large heads, so they spread wide from the center point. But I don't care; I absolutely love the sound reproduction.
Highly recommended.
Update, 29 December 2009
I took a chance on the Sony MDR-7506 cans and I really like them as well. They're quite a bit lighter than the 840s, and I'll be more comfortable wearing the 7506s for longer periods, particularly for ham radio work when I'm moving around listening, writing down information, adjusting radio settings, working with the laptop on digital modes, etc. That said, the 840s seem to have a slightly richer sound, particularly for quite music. Part of that effect may be that the ear seals are thicker and cut out more ambient noise than the 7506s
Read Best Reviews of Shure SRH840 Professional Monitoring Headphones (Black) Here
In my quest to search for the best closed, non-noise-cancelling headphones that will do a satisfactory job of isolating the engine rumble of the bus that I take to and from work, I found that the choices are very few. I ultimately decided on purchasing two pairs, the Sennheiser HD 380 pro and the Shure SRH840. Prior to testing the differences between these two headphones, I ran both of them through my home audiophile stereo system at high volume for over 50 hours each plus another 20 hours each of casual listening to and from work.
First, the dimensions of each can. The Senn's are bigger and more oval shaped than the Shures. The Senn's cans measure approximately 4 9/16 inches by 3 7/16 inches, while the Shure's is more roundish, although still oval, measuring about 4 2/16 inches by 3 1/2 inches. The longer length of the Senn's may bother people like myself who suffer from TMJ syndrome (jaw problem due to clenching), which may also be further induced by its vice like pressure. The Shure's are not long enough to reach my jaw, and they fit more loosely but still snug enough to keep firmly on my head. The depth, the length of the outside of the leather that covers your ears to the felt of the inside of the can, is 1 1/16 inches in the Senn's and only about 3/4 of an inch for the Shures. This is a huge difference. My normal size ears actually touch the inside felt of the Shure's, but this rarely bothered me. This vast difference led me to believe that the Senn's will have a better soundstage; however, I was not able to detect any difference. The Senn's have a very thin and porous felt, and it is easy to see the speaker. However, the Shure's felt is thicker and far less porous, and therefore, it is not possible to see the speaker. Perhaps the speaker in the Shure's is further recessed, which may be the reason that I was not able to detect a difference in the soundstage.
I like the fact that the Shure's wire is a screw on, so if the wire breaks, it can be replaced. I believe that the Senn's wire is a permanent fixture, but I am not certain; however, I do know that they are not the screw on type. Although they both come with a case, I much prefer the Senn's case. It is a somewhat hard case, but at the same time somewhat soft difficult to explain. Anyway, it is very cool. It even has a strap like handle very cool. It fits very easily in my briefcase. The headphone case has a zipper and can be completely enclosed. The Shure's case is leather with a draw string, but it cannot be completely enclosed, and takes up a lot more space in my briefcase, and is not nearly as cool. I was not impressed.
In my subjective casual listening to these headphones during my commute to and from work, I felt that the Senn's isolated the outside sounds of the engine rumbles of the bus perhaps 10%-20% better than the Shures. I did a more objective test in my house, as I put the headphones on without music and listened to my air conditioner. The Senn's clearly isolated better. Still, the Shure's did a satisfactory job.
Now it was time to test the sound. First, I wanted to know if the headphones would sound different through an mp3 player (320 bit rate) compared to through my stereo system. I did a blind test. The difference was clear it took me only between 5 and 10 seconds to know which sounded better. I came up with the same results time and time again. The headphones sounded superior, much cleaner and sharper, when connected to my home stereo. I am not sure how much of the difference was due to the mp3's compressed sound of the copy or to the huge difference in the quality between my audiophile stereo amplifier to the low quality amp of the mp3 player. However, my test may lead me to one day buy a portable amplifier for my headphones, if a company ever comes up with a high quality amp that uses a rechargeable battery instead of a 9v battery lasting only a week or two.
I wanted to know which is more efficient ( obtaining more headphone volume at the same amp volume setting.) I raised the volume in my amp until I was able to hear something. This test proved to me that the Senn's are efficient but only sightly. I used music with only midrange in this test.
Now I wanted to see which headphones sound better at least to my ears. To me, better means more faithful frequency response, extended bass, and crisp and open sound. I used my audiophile stereo system as the reference. I listened to songs that I am very familiar with Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra, Count Basie, Chicago, Elton John, Melissa Manchester, Kelly Clarkson, Steely Dan, Donald Fagen, George Winston, and Johann Sebastian Bach. I listened for many hours. I listened at high volumes and at very, very, low volumes. There is definitely a huge difference in the sound. By far the biggest difference is in the middle to high part of the bass, such as sounds produced by the bass guitar, bass drums, and synthesizer bass. I am completely convinced that the Senn's have an exaggerated mid to high bass. The Shure's mid to high bass always sounded far closer to the faithfulness of my reference. The difference is staggering. The only reason that I still listen to the Senn's with music with a lot of mid to high bass is that the rumble of the busses dampen the exaggerated bass; however, once I step off the bus, I always wish that I was listening to the Shure's. So, when I listen to say Stevie Wonder, Steely Dan, and Chicago, I much prefer to listen to the Shure's.
I must say, however, that although the Senn's mid to high bass is definitely exaggerated, its mids and high are impressive enough and the bass is tight enough, that the whole music spectrum can still be appreciated. However, the whole music spectrum is more appreciated with the Shure's, as it too has a tight bass and has mids and highs that are even more impressive than the Senn's.
Listening to music having a deeper bass than mentioned above, for example the plucking of the bass fiddle in Count Basie's CB Express and Satin Doll, the Senn's were a little more impressive than the Shure's. Going still deeper in the bass, the bowing (you know, when the musician uses the bow in the string instrument) in Bach's concertos, I was surprised to find out that the Shure's went equally deep as the Senn's. With bass this deep, it is nearly impossible to exaggerate the bass, so ultimately the headphones with the more powerful bass is the one with the better deep bass. I found that sometimes the Senn's sounded slightly better and at times the Shure's sounded slightly better. At one part of the music, I decided to listen at the lowest possible volume to find out at what volume would I not be able to hear the bass anymore. The Shure's actually did slightly better than the Senn's during this test. However, at a different part of another concerto, I felt something in the bass with the Senn's that I felt less of with the Shure's. Consequently, my impression with the deepest part of the bass is a mixed conclusion and the differences only slight.
When I tested the mid range to high ends, I found that the Shure's made this musical spectrum sound more separated from the bass than the Senn's, but I was not certain if it was due to the exaggeration of the mid to high bass of the Senns's. However, when I listened to Bach, which mostly lacks mid to high bass, the mids and highs still sounded more separate from the bass with the Shure's. Cymbals in every music that I listened to almost always sounded more crisp and clear with the Shure's. Still, they never sounded too bright or tinny.
All the other closed, non-noise cancelling headphones that I tested at the stores simply could not match the noise isolation of the Shure's and Senn's. However, I think that the Sony MDR 900's came the closest. I did not buy the Sony's because they were too loose fitting on me. If you want headphones that have high quality sound but you are a little less concerned about isolation from outside sounds than I am, I would consider the Shure's SRH840 and the Sony MDR 900. If you are not concerned about isolation at all, then there are many, many more choices. The Denon's 2000's is just one example of a solid choice for those who want high quality sound and do not care less about isolation, but, as I mentioned, there are many, many other choices. I just wish there were more choices for folks like myself who want to enjoy listening to music while being in the middle of a raucous of a big city. For now, the Sennheiser HD 380 pro and Shure SRH840 may be the two best choices available for those who need the very best of noise isolation, without the noise-cancelling technology.
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After buying a pair of Shure SRH-840s about 7 months ago, I feel confident to come back and review this rather excellent product.
I wont bother too much with the technical details, as other reviews have done this, (and the frequency response of this set can be found pretty easily with a google search it's obvious from those alone that the 840s don't compare to headphones made for bass but more on this in a tad).
How they sound:
Excellent mids and highs...
The 840s are, without a doubt, an excellent sounding set of cans. Namely, the midrange (what one would consider most drums, guitars, vocals and such) is amazing to behold I can think of a number of circumstances where I have shocked friends with how good these do sound for music such as Metallica, and even ranging to more laid back performances such as Florence and the Machine or Megan Washington. They have quite decent resolving power (especially for the price), and with their presentation, you'll definitely hear as other reviewers have said the flaws in your old mp3 collection. However, you will also be able to enjoy the subtle scratches of the pick as it strums a guitar or almost every nuance of a violin's timbre. This brings me to the very respectable high-range performance of these headphones again, especially for the price. If your musical tastes are generally in these regions, then look no further unless you want to be spending much more.
Decent bass...
The bass performance on these headphones cant really be described in simple terms, so examples are probably the way to go. These wont present Dubstep as it is meant to be heard or even the deepest parts of a Daft Punk track. Don't be mistaken not being "as it is meant to be heard" for these genres is by no means damning. It is very hard to find headphones which can achieve these immense levels of bass in general one would have to go for something which just isn't as good on any other level BUT bass if aiming for the same price range, eg. Sony MDR-XB700 50mm XB Diaphragm Driver Extra Bass Headphones . However, if your tastes overlap other genres of music such as rock, alternative, classical, electronica, etc then the bass is more than adequate for these genres, and is actually quite engaging.
If you haven't spent much on headphones before, then your jaw will simply hit the ground when you plug these into a hi-fi or a computer with a decent soundcard and hear Hotel California's now classic chords rock your ears. Not even considering the amazing midrange and highs, these best almost all high quality headphones near the price and definitely most ear buds (IEMs). For example, if you're considering Sennheisers (ie, the HD 595 and the like which are open headphones!), believe me, I've heard them and they either sound very similar to these or come nowhere close. So yes, four stars for bass they cant do everything, but give stuff like Dubstep a decent attempt and make orchestras simply come to life.
Involving soundstage...
These are closed headphones, so if you want to feel as if you're in a stadium, then this is probably the wrong place to start. Without amplification, these still work very well (ie, from an iphone and such) and place you very close to the music. You can liken it to having the furthest away parts of the music being a couple of inches from your ears. The advantage of this limited soundstage, however, is the fantastic musical impact. I'm of a breed where I like to feel my music and not just hear it in which case these headphones do a great job. You can feel the drum beats and the air around your ears shift ever so slightly at the whisper of Sinatra, before recoiling to the force of his big-band brass backing.
In terms of isolation well, I can hear babies crying and a person talking if they are sitting next to me on the train, but the rumble of the train itself and anything else but the above are veiled behind the pleasant wall of audio these become. Not the best, but quite serviceable.
Build Quality, Fit and Wear Resistance:
Size doesn't matter, unless you're small...
These are very large headphones. Again, trust me I wear them to University (walk -> train -> walk every day) and I do get my fair share of stares. These look (whether they are or not) at least 33% bigger on your head than, say, a set of Beats by Dr. Dre (Studio). They look quite a lot bigger than Sennheiser HD 595s and 555s too (although they actually aren't). This is due to their very studio-esque black, bulky design. Now, if you're using these at home, then that's not an issue, but if you're wearing these outside, then don't count yourself amongst the stylish (I sure don't).
As for fit, they fit excellently on my (slightly smaller than dead-on medium, according to the internet) head size, of course, I'm on the lowest setting. I can wear them for hours on end (6+) with no problem (although the weight takes a tad to get used to). That proves more than anything else that they're very comfortable in my books. Also good to note is that these unlike the Shure SRH-440s are deep enough to fully engulf my ears(which are by no means abnormally large), so no irritating pressure or scratchiness on any part of my head other than where the cans clamp.
Built to last...
Finally and perhaps the most important point wear resistance. I use these every day whether going out or to uni so these things have gone through drizzle, rubbed up against extraneous metal bits of trains and been thrown around their fair share (honestly, once you get your hands on them and can feel the build quality all those years of taking care of your headphones go out the window, and I'm perfectly capable of just throwing these now). Seven months of heavy usage and what can I say about them? Well, the shiny bits are on their way to wearing down and becoming duller and there's a nick on the back of one of the cushions, but other than that these are holding out without any issue whatsoever. Particularly the cable. It's very long (3m coiled about 1.2 of which is straight), it's not the highest of gauges, but is very thickly protected, and has thus far (even though it's been shoved in my pocket hundreds of times) not indicated the slightest sign of wear, outside of becoming slightly grimy.
Uses and Amplification:
Mixing...
So, why use these headphones? Well, aside from sounding great playing almost anything, these have proved to be excellent monitoring headphones. I edit a lot of audio and video (for household as well as amateur film making purposes), and have enjoyed using these as a reference. In particular, the way they sound and their resolving power is similar to what most people have as their audio video setup in the living room. Not THAT many people have an actually decent sub, and barely anyone realizes what soundstages or resolution mean for the listening experience, so using these instead of my better resolving and more dynamic headphones actually benefits the people I'm mixing audio for. Their clean, clear audio, decent isolation and very good frequency response all lend themselves wonderfully for this purpose.
Turning it up...
As for amplification, well, listening to these on my iphone with and without a portable amp improved the sound but a little in the overall scheme of things. As for how loud they go, well, they don't compare to the 69-dollar IEMs you get at Best Buy, but they are quite loud enough for the person sitting next to you in a lecture theater hear what you're listening to, and for you to know that you're pretty much going as close as you should to damaging your ears. For studio use, like in my mixing setup at home, amplification does work to improve resolution, soundstage and overall dynamic and frequency response, but is by no means truly required as it is for headphones such as the AKG 701/2s, Beyerdynamic DT880s or Denon '5000s.
(mercifully short) Conclusion:
All in all, unless you haven't been able to get at it from the rest of this review, these headphones are a personal favourite of the tens I've tried myself, and have served me very well for quite a while now. For home use, I upgraded to a set of Denon '5000s Denon AH-D5000 Reference Headphones which pretty much do what these cant (but due to their wire and sheer size cant be used anywhere BUT home) so I still use these for the daily commute.
For those wishing to just get the gist of it, I'll sum this up rather quickly for you if you are a musician looking for studio headphones, this is it. If you are an audiophile, this might not be it it depends on what you define as neutral sound. Now, without further adieu...
Ever had a dog? Lovely little critters they are. Sometimes. Until they chew the wires of your beloved Audio Technica M50's then you want to STRANGLE THEM!! Somehow, my Audio Technica M50's survived the incident thanks to the thick wire jacket. I covered the damage in electrical tape and all was well for a few months, anyhow. About 3 months ago, the signal started to cut in and out, and within three days it settled on some kind of unlistenable, bass-less mono feed that quickly resorted in me looking around town for someone that could repair headphones. Unfortunately I live in a rather small town, and everyone I went to in the area told me the same thing: get a new pair of headphones. That or I could drive an hour to Birmingham and then go around that city for hours and just HOPE that someone would fix the things.
Instead of going through that, however, I decided to look up some reviews, and see if I could make light of this scenario and just use it as an excuse to upgrade. I found that most people see the M50's as some of the best headphones you can possibly get in that price range and you better believe I agreed with them. One particular comment I kept coming across, however, was that they were better suited for listening to music than for mixing it. No argument on them being good for listening I listened to everything from Wu Tang Clan to Nine Inch Nails to Amon Tobin to Modest Mussorgsky and it all sounded fantastic. I had, however, come across many problems using them for mixing, particularly that they were such revealing headphones that I would spend hours nitpicking away at the tiniest thing and make literally no progress. Don't fool yourself into thinking the revealing will be a good thing when it comes to mixing, much as I had been doing.
Fast-forward to now, when I have the Shure SRH840's in hand. With all of this setup in mind, let me lay out some simple pros and cons of the SRH840.
PROS:
Up until this point I was not a firm believer in the "burn-in" period of headphones. I always thought it was imaginary and that the user was simply getting used to their headphones. Now that I have bought my second pair of high-end headphones I can say with FIRM BELIEF that burn-in is REAL. These things come with way too much high-end and not enough low-end but after about 5 hours of music it WILL tighten up. From what I've read, they tighten up even more over the course of several days worth of music.
These are incredible for mixing. Best gear I've ever had the honor of using. (While I have not BOUGHT many pieces of gear, I've used a lot, as I've traveled a bit) I had been struggling with a mix of a particular song for days using a backup pair of Phillips, and after the 5 hour burn-in period with my new SRH840's, I played it and it was like magic within 30 minutes I had the thing completely mixed. Not even kidding literally a half hour.
I could tell that the mid-range of the SRH840's was just a hair louder than the ATH-M50's, which was my only real complaint about the M50's regarding the freq range this small adjustment seems to have brought it up to something that is as close to as neutral as I've ever heard.
Incredibly comfortable! No more cheap M50 pleather for me!
Replaceable earpads and cable is a huge plus. Particularly the cable bit as that is what drew me to the sale in the first place.
CONS:
My M50's were "a little big." These things, by comparison, are HUGE. I mean %*$#%$%ING GIANT! On the other hand, if you have a big head, then no worries! But, even on my (sort of) large head, on the smallest setting, they slide a bit if I tilt my head far enough down.
The soundstage of the SRH840's could learn a thing or two from the M50's. If you want to experience Carnegie Hall in all it's 3D glory, you'd be much better suited to something like the AKG 702's, or of course, the Audio Technica M50's (Which, while better than the SRH840's, I have heard that nothing compares to the soundstage of the AKG's).
Hopefully this review will have helped you decide. Thanks for reading!
